Incentives, morality, or habit? Predicting students' car use for university routes with the models of Ajzen, Schwartz, and Triandis

The predictive power of the Ajzen, Triandis, and Schwartz models are compared in the context of car use for university routes. Two hundred fifty-four students filled out a questionnaire designed to measure the components of the three models. In the prediction of intention to use a car, results indicated that one variable from the Trinandis; model-role beliefs-increased the explanatory power offered by the components of the Ajzen model. In the prediction of self-reported car use, one variable of the Triandis model-car use habit-significantly increased the predictive power of the Ajzen model. The central variable of the Schwartz model-personal norm-exerted no significant effect either on intention or on behavior. The implications of the findings for interventions to reduce the car use of students for university routes are discussed.